KNOXVILLE (WATE) – The holiday season is the jolly time of the year for con artists who will call claiming you won a pile of money.

Dorothy from Knoxville asks: “Because they know my name and address, should I be worried? will they come after me?”

“You have just won $2.5 million from the lottery,” said the phone call, according to Dorothy, whose last name we are not revealing.

The unsolicited phone call came from Kingston, Jamaica.

“His name according to him, his name is Paul Brown,” said Dorothy.

Brown, who told Dorothy she was a big lottery winner, heard her say that couldn’t be right.

“I have never bought a lottery ticket in my life. I couldn’t have won the lottery because I have never bought a ticket.,” she said. Dorothy then went on to describe what Brown told her in response.

“I’m going to tell you how you won it. I’m going to tell you how you won it. You didn’t have to have a ticket,” she said.

Brown told her she didn’t need a ticket, but only had to register to get the money. So, what she needed to do was purchase $300 worth of Green Dot MoneyPak cards and then call him back with the numbers.

Dorothy says she’s not that naive and wasn’t born yesterday.

“I was trying not being ugly and rude. I could have told him to go to h-e-double-l, but I didn’t,” she said as she laughed. “I should have probably, but I didn’t.”

She can laugh at it now, but Brown called her several times over two days, and she’s not comfortable with that. She says she’s worried about the fact that he knew exactly where she lives.

The guy who called himself Paul Brown is not a legitimate telemarketer. He’s a con artist who likely works out of a boiler room.

To him, Dorothy is a name and an address on a computer, and he’s trying to make a quick buck, steal her money, from thousands of miles away.

If you get a call like this, what you need to do is hang up. Wiring money or sending it by using a Green Dot MoneyPak card is a big red flag.

Remember, if you didn’t enter a contest, you are not a winner.

You can Don Dare’s 6 On Your Side Answers every Thursday on 6 News at 4:00.

If you have a question you can send Don an email at ddare@wate.com or call his 6 On Your Side hotline at (865) 633-5974.